Whoo! This chapter took a while to figure out what I wanted and I'm sorry if the last couple of chapters made Kohaku bipolar. I had a couple of people complain about that and I didn't mean to make her like that, but my own personal issues like to seep into my writing occasionally. So sorry again. Anyway! Here's the next chapter and I added a few things that you guys suggested. I went ahead and combined the Alice In Wonderland chapter and the Newspaper Club one. so I hop you enjoy and like it. tell me what you think please! I added a Kyoya bit int there too and I want to know what you guys think of that. ^^
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Ouran, only my own characters. I also do not own "Mad As Rabbits" By Panic At The Disco! And if you don't understand the lyrics, here's a nice website I found that explains the meaning behind them. www. songmeanings songs/view/3530822107858709066/
"Mad As Rabbits"
By Panic at the Disco!
"The poor son of a humble chimney sweep
Fell to a cheap crowd
So stay asleep and put on that cursive type
You know we live in a toy.
Paul Cates bought himself a trumpet from the salvation army
But there ain't no sunshine in his song
We must reinvent love,
Reinvent love,
Reinvent love.
He took the days for pageant
Became as mad as rabbits
With bushels of bad habits
Who could ask for anymore?
Yea who could have more."
I found myself walking into the gates of the school with an elder gentleman in front of me. I didn't recognize him, but I knew I was supposed to follow him nonetheless. We were soon in front of the principal's office and the man told me to wait outside while he went to speak to the man. I sat in the hallway and put on my headphones, playing a game on my ipod when someone sat beside me. Glancing up, my eyes widened as I came face-to-face with Haruhi in her middle school uniform.
"H-Haruhi?" I questioned as I lowered my headphones and put my ipod away.
"Hm? Oh, hey Kohaku. I forgot you were transferring to Ouran."
"A-Ah." I replied, not really sure what was going on. "You've changed a lot in a year."
I looked her over in interest, a bit jealous at how nice she looked with long hair.
"Yeah, well it looks like I'm not the only one. You seem a bit older, and wasn't your hair white before?"
Right at that moment, something suddenly clicked in my mind; my hand being pulled through my now auburn hair. Haruhi and I have gone back a year, which means she's in middle school and I'm…
"…not dead."
"Huh?"
"N-Nothing!" I told her with a smile, not meaning to let that slip out. "I was just wondering how we got here and all. I mean, weren't we doing something before this?"
She put a hand to her chin in thought. "Hm…I don't really know. Maybe we should ask him."
The person she pointed at had me in shock once more. It was a boy with white hair and violet eyes, who appeared to be speaking with a pink stuffed bunny; both of which were holding a banana. The boy was familiar though. He was wearing a black, floppy-eared hoodie over a black and white stripped shirt, but what really caught my eye, was the fluffy white ferret tail that poked out of the back of his black shorts.
"F-Fu-kun?"
The boy turned to me with a smirk and mouthed something that made me turn pale with shock.
"I'm going to tell him."
"Uh, Kohaku? Are you okay?"
Haruhi tugged on my light blue v-neck and I quickly turned and grabbed her hand as Fu-kun and the bunny ran down the hall.
"Haruhi! That was Fu-kun! We have to go after him!"
"W-What?! Why?!"
I began pulling her down the hall after the two in a panic.
"I can't be late! If I'm too late, Fu-kun's going to tell him!"
"Who?!"
"The only person who doesn't know! Kyoya-kun!"
I skidded to a stop in front of the double doors leading into the music room and yanked them open. The rabbit and Fu-kun stopped in the center of the room and the roaring of a motor filled the empty space as the two of them sank into the floor; Fu-kun giving me a wave.
"That damn rat!"
I ran forward after them as Haruhi tried to stop me from behind.
"Wait, Kohaku!"
Unfortunately, the moment she grabbed a hold of the back of my shirt, we both slipped on the peels of Fu-kun and Usa-chan's bananas. Thus causing the two of us to fall down the hole. Although, I suppose that's nothing compared to how we both ended up.
"Damn. I can't get this off." Haruhi grumbled, her butt stuck in a vase." Kohaku, could you help me get this…off…"
"Haruhi! Where are you?! I can't see!"
And I had my head stuck in another vase.
"Great…Kohaku, can you stop flailing? You're going to-"
"Ow!" I shouted, having stubbed my foot into the leg of the piano.
"-run into something…" Haruhi sighed.
I then heard what sounded like something running across the strings inside the piano. I fell backwards onto my butt, holding my foot, and having no idea what was going on.
"Um…" Haruhi said. "I can't get this vase off. Could you lend me a hand?"
I didn't know who she was talking to, but I would rather not be kept in the dark. Quite literally.
"Hey! What about me?!"
"Just go smash your head into a wall or something. It's your fault we're in this mess to begin with.
"Haruhi! You're so mean!"
I could practically see her roll her eyes, when a new voice spoke up.
"My~ You've gotten yourselves into a nasty position, haven't you?"
I soon felt the vase being pulled and it wasn't long before Nekozawa freed me from my prison. Leaning back on my hands, I smiled up at him from the floor.
"Thanks, Nekozawa-kun."
"Hm? Who is this 'Nekozawa-kun'? I am the mysterious merchant N."
I blinked up at him in confusion, but rolled with it. "Okay then. Thanks, N-kun."
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Haruhi said with a glare.
"Oh? If I remember right, you told me to go slam my head into a wall. Can't you do the same with your butt?" I smirked.
"Fine. I'm sorry, Kohaku. Now help me get out of this vase!"
"Ah, I guess. If N-kun has something to help."
"This drink is perfect at a time like this!" He said, reaching into his cloak and pulling out a small vile. "If you drink this, you'll shrink in an instant. And if you eat La Expander, which comes with The Shrinker, you can wonderfully and gigantically expand."
"Oh. That's cool. Hey Haruhi. I forgot, but who were you talking to before? It wasn't N-kun."
"Some boy who came out of the piano. He ate a banana on the floor and went out that door over there."
She pointed to a small set of double doors and I walked over to them, lying down on the floor to see. When I opened the tiny doors, I saw Shiro whispering to Fu-kun and Usa-chan. They spotted me and Shiro ran off just as I reached my hand in to grab Fu-kun.
"Come on you little-Ow!" Pulling my hand back, I scowled at the doors. "Haruhi! He bit me!"
She just frowned. "Good. Now hurry up and help me."
I sucked on the end of my finger and took the bottle from 'N'. Letting Haruhi drink some, I took some as well and we both shrank down small enough to fit through the doors. Just before we left though, 'N' said something interesting.
"Beyond that door lies a world of magic. If you travel unequipped, you will regret it."
I gave him a nod. "I-I'll keep that in mind."
Then, I closed the doors and followed Haruhi down a dark hallway. On our right, there were a group of lights that followed us, spelling out the kanji for 'woman'. I glared at them and nudged Haruhi, gesturing towards the lights.
"What's this for?"
"How should I know?"
I shrugged, then noticed that it was counting down. "It's counting down? To what?"
Haruhi looked as it flashed a picture of a bunch of bananas. "Bananas?"
"Ah! Haruhi don't-"
I was cut off as we both ended up slipping on banana peels once more.
"Again?!" I shouted.
This time though, Haruhi fell down a hole while I slipped past her through a door. Unexpectedly, I fell face first onto a dirt path. As I pushed myself up, I spat out sod and looked around at the forest I had ended up in.
"U-Uh, Haruhi?"
There was no response and I glanced behind me to see that the door I had fallen through had disappeared. Well, looks like I can't go back. I guess I can only hope Haruhi and I meet up again somewhere. Dusting my pants off, I sighed as I looked down at the brown stains.
"Today was a bad day to wear white." With a sigh, I began walking through the forest. "Well, this is different than I expected."
"Look! What an odd flower."
I turned to my left and sweat dropped at the trio of flower…people staring at me.
"A flower without color or fragrance would be shunned by any garden. Right, Benibara? Suzuran?"
"Hinagiku," One of the flower people said. "Don't be so blunt…Doesn't this flower look different though? Shabby but, nice."
I blinked at the flower people and leaned closer. "Do I…know you?"
I had this nagging feeling that I knew them, but my mind was drawing a blank. The one in the middle though, kind of ticked me off a bit.
"This is the garden of Lobelia. The charmed flower garden permitted only to fragrant young ladies. You, shabby flower, in which species do you belong?"
"I'm not a flower." I said, but I wasn't quite paying attention to them. My mind was wandering and I reached out towards the stems of one of the flower people, thinking out loud. "I wonder what will happen if I pluck you…"
They screamed and I flinched back in surprise. Oops. Did I say that out loud? They suddenly grew angry and began wrapping me in thorny vines.
"Did you come here to defile our garden?!"
"You're the worst!"
"You're no flower! You're a weed!"
They swung me around in the air and, upon realizing that I couldn't escape, I kind of freaked out in a desperate attempt to get away from these things.
"H-Hold on! Calm down! What kind of garden is this anyway?! If I'm a weed, then this forest is cursed!"
I was suddenly dropped in the dirt and the center flower person spoke.
"We can't argue with that. After all, this forest is truly cursed."
"Yes." Another flower person said. "Until recently, our rich land was ruled by the red king and we used to live in peace."
An image of a blonde haired, violet eyed king filled my thoughts as they went on.
"But after the king fell ill, the black king took over and trouble began. The black king is tempermental."
"If anyone upsets the king a little, it leads to an immediate execution order. Even if one escapes, it's impossible to elude the curse. The forest did not satisfy his sense of beauty, so he cursed it by taking away its light."
I put a hand to my chin in thought as the three flowers clung to each other.
"We hate the king, but what can we flowers do? We can only huddle together and await a savior!"
"Be strong, my darlings." Benibara said, in an attempt to comfort the other two.
"Well, I don't really like you three, but Haruhi probably went to this king. So I guess I can help you. Tell me about the black king."
They seemed a tad surprised that I would help them, but what they pulled out reminded me of why I was here to begin with.
"This is what he looks like."
In the frame they held up, was a picture of Kyoya wearing a twisted crown of branches and a large smirk on his face as he leaned forward on a pitch black sword. Shivers racked up my spine ad I considered turning around and leaving, but then I remembered what Fu-kun was planning on doing. I can't believe I'm doing this.
"Urg…I really don't want to, but I don't really have much of a choice…Have you, by any chance, seen Fu-I mean, a boy with a ferret tail?"
They gave each other a look, and turned back to me, pointing deeper into the forest.
"That way. He is the black king's messenger, so if you find him, you shall find the king."
I nodded my thanks and headed through the forest, only to pause and sigh. I have to fight Kyoya…I'm so screwed. I hope you're doing better than me, Haruhi. Unknown to me, Haruhi wasn't doing much better and was currently jumping out of a pool of Lobelia crocs.
Having asked around a small town about where I could find the black king, I was directed towards the 'Well-Informed' Duchess' home. The moment I walked in the door however, I stopped just short of stepping on a banana peel. Hmph, I'm not falling for this trick again.
"Aw, you didn't trip. The other one did."
Looking up from the banana peel covered floor, I caught sight of an amber eyed…cat.
"Yeah, well, I've fallen for this trick one too many times today. And what do you mean, 'the other one'?"
He just smirked from the couch, his tail swishing back and forth.
"I am the Duchess and this is my cat. I have heard that you are searching to defeat the black king."
I glanced at the eccentric woman and rubbed the back of my neck.
"A-Actually, I wasn't going to defeat him, per say…" I really just want to stop Fu-kun from telling him my secret.
"I know! It is natural for a hero to appear when a damsel is in distress."
I blinked, giving the cat a glance before turning back.
"I-I don't think I understand. And what do you mean 'distress'?"
"You don't know?" The cat said, opening an eye. "She's been sentenced to death."
I gave the Duchess a look as she cried into a handkerchief.
"What did I do? I was only curious about the black king and his relationship with his attendant Tachibana."
"I would want to kill you too." I muttered with a face palm.
She then moved over to the side. "If anything happens to me, what will become of my dear baby?"
"Aren't you a bit young to have a kid?"
She went to respond, but two guards burst in and grabbed her.
"Duchess, by order of the black king…"
"We're here to collect you!"
"Ah! Wait! What about-" The doors slammed shut before I could finish. "-your kid…"
"Did you really think that doll was the Duchess' child?"
I looked at the cat before going to the cloth bundle and opening it to find a wooden cat voodoo doll.
"This doesn't make any sense. Why would she-" I turned, only to find the couch empty and the cat nowhere to be found.
Sighing, I left the Duchess' home and went out to find the castle. I had seen it from the Duchess' house, but without knowing exactly how to get there, I worried I would end up getting lost. Knowing me, I would get lost and Kyoya will probably be laughing abut it. Just then, I spotted the Duchess' cat leaning up against a tree.
"Hm? Hey, could you-"
The cat smirked and twisted around to the other side of the tree.
"Over here." A voice called, and there was the cat, leaning on a different tree. "Surprised?"
"I suppose."
He smirked again. "I can disappear and…"
"...reappear just like this." The cat said, popping up by another tree.
I raised a brow, already onto their trick. "Okay then. You think you could tell me which way to go?"
"That'll depend…"
"…on where you want to go."
I rolled my eyes. "Personally, I would like to go home, but I need to get Haruhi first so I guess I'm going to the castle."
"You plan on ousting the black king yourself?"
"You must be really stupid."
"Says you. You're the ones playing around behind trees. Why don't you both just come out already? You're not fooling me." I grumbled.
"What do…"
"…you mean?"
I gave the cat a look and turned around to keep walking.
"Hey! Where…"
"…are you going?"
"To the castle. Didn't I say that already?"
I kept walking and the two of them tried to keep up without blowing their cover.
"But you don't…"
"…know which way to go!"
"I guess I'll get lost then, huh?" I replied with a shrug. "Either way, I'll find it sooner or later. And I'm not too stubborn to not ask for directions, so I suppose I don't really need your guys' help."
Suddenly, the two cats were in front of me with scowls on their faces and arms crossed.
"You're as bad as the black king."
I gave them a shit-eating grin. "I don't know what you mean."
They leaned forward, glaring at me.
"You're making…
"…us help you."
"That's not true." I smiled, walking between them. " I haven't forced you to do anything."
"Demon."
I laughed. "That's the best compliment I've heard all day! First a weed and now a demon. What next?…Now, might this demon know who you two are?"
The two cats dashed in front of me and posed.
"We are the cheerful Cheshire cat doppelgangers!"
"We used to be a single cat…"
"…until the king's curse split us in two."
"Is that so." I said. "You two don't seem too upset about it though. How'd you manage to piss the king off?"
They turned their backs to me and shrugged.
"It was only a prank. We dropped a pet elephant tortoise in his favorite turtle soup."
"We hate grown ups who don't get a joke."
I nodded. "Well, maybe the turtle was important."
They stopped walking and turned around.
"You're on his side?"
I shrugged. "Who knows? I'm just saying he probably had a good reason. Besides, if he really wanted to, he could have executed you."
They both looked at each other and put a hand to their throats, having just realized that was true. Of course, it took them a moment longer to notice I had kept walking, but they caught up soon enough.
"Well, how about…"
"…we go with you?"
I shrugged again. "You can if you want, but are you sure? I'm going to see the black king. You might make him mad and he could change his mind about not killing you."
They gulped, considering that.
"Why would he do that?"
I smirked. "He might realize that he only doubled his problem. Having two doppelgangers is worse than one after all."
They stopped walking and I turned back around.
"Well aren't you two coming?"
They looked nervously at each other and waved shakily.
"N-Nah."
"You go on ahead."
"We'll, uh…"
"…catch up with you later."
I smiled to myself and turned back around. "That's what I thought." I muttered, proudly.
I had, after all, fooled the two troublemakers into staying behind, thus keeping me out of too much trouble. Although, I never did get directions. Whoops. I stuffed my hands in my pockets and lazily kicked a stone as I walked. After a while, I walked into a building and strolled right past a table with a group of odd characters. I knew better than to get involved with them, but I still had no clue where I was going, and reluctantly back tracked.
"Uh, do you guys know-"
"No open seats here."
The man who cut me off was calmly sipping a cup of tea, his black hair covered with a large top hat.
"Yeah, no open seats here."
Next to him, was a young blonde kid eating pound after pound of cake. I glared at the kid first before glaring at the other.
"Weirdos."
I went to leave, my mind being made up, but the two called out to me.
"Ah! Wait! Please don't walk away!"
"It was a joke! There's plenty of open seats here, right?"
"Oh? But why should I? Looks to me like I'm not wanted here, so I'll just be on my wa-Gah!"
I was suddenly grabbed and pulled against a solid chest, my face getting red as I looked up into the emerald eyes of the Hatter.
"Don't say that~ We only wanted to have a little fun. Life gets dull without a pretty girl like you around."
My face grew redder and I lowered my head submissively.
"Fine. I'll sit down." I lifted my head and glared up at him. "But only for a little bit!"
He smiled with a chuckle. "All right."
He pulled my chair out for me as I sat. "I would like to ask you three something though." I glanced over at the one that was sleeping peacefully. "Well, two of you."
I froze suddenly as I felt a hand brush through my hair. Turning my head around, I glared at the grinning Hatter.
"W-What are you doing?"
"Your hair should be white."
I gave him a shocked look. "How did you-"
"I like your hair. Unfortunately, I'd like it better if it was white."
I sighed, deciding to ignore his hand as he messed with my hair and sipped at my tea.
"Yeah, well, it's not. So can we stop talking about my hair?"
His hands slipped around my neck and I shivered as his breath brushed my ear.
"Then what should we talk about?"
Okay, I'm getting uncomfortable now. I set my tea down as calmly as I could, trying to keep my hands from shaking. I don't do well with strangers, although I think I know him from somewhere.
"Can you please let go of me?"
"Why? I thought you liked me." He pouted and I pushed his arms off me.
"I don't like you like that, Shindo-kun. Now could you please go sit down in your own chair?"
Everything seemed to freeze for a second and I wondered if I had said something wrong, but Shindo-Is that what I called him?-released me and went to his seat with a smile.
"You are a curious one~" He said.
"Uh…thanks."
Just then, a huge tray of sweets rolled up to the table and the blonde kid picked up a cake to eat. I too, picked up a sweet and began eating when I had a thought.
"Man, this is so good. It would suck if one of us got a cavity or something." I waved my fork at…Honey. "We'd both probably die without sweets."
All of a sudden, the sleeping dormouse's nose bubble popped and he sat up.
"Make sure you brush your teeth properly." He told the boy.
"'kay."
The mouse guy smiled, causing me to flush slightly, before he fell back asleep.
"Wow, uh…" I tried to distract myself. "Never seen a nose bubble pop."
"Riddle. Riddle." Shindo called and I mouthed the words silently in confusion. "Would you give up eating sweets for three days?"
I gave him a look. "No. Probably not."
He set his cup down with a loud clatter. "No! That's definitely not true!" He stood abruptly, with his hands on the table. "If that was true, you wouldn't have skipped dessert at our dinner date!"
"I-I guess I would then. If it was for someone else." I said nervously.
Shindo nodded, replacing his smile as he returned to his seat. Woah. Talk about mood change.
"Neh, neh! How about some wine?"
I gave a look at Honey as he gestured to a mannequin that held a wine bottle.
"No thanks. The legal age is twenty here, right? You and I may be close, but it still isn't quite legal yet. And I don't really drink either."
The blonde Lolita blinked at me, but gave me a smile. Next thing I know, a clock chime went off and as I tried to locate the source, a row of grandfather clocks appeared out of nowhere. My mouth dropped open and I gestured to them, hoping that I wasn't the only one who was seeing this. They all just ignored me though, Shindo pulling out a pocket watch to check the time.
"Here, it's always three in the afternoon."
Then why did you check your pocket watch, you git. There are twenty clocks right here!
"That's why it's always snack time!" Honey called out, shoving another slice of cake in his mouth.
"Okay! I give up! What the hell is this place?!" I shouted, tossing my hands in the air. The clocks just disappeared!
"Riddle. Riddle." Shindo sang again, and I groaned as I dropped my head in my hands. "Why do you look and act the way you do?"
I lifted my head and glared. "What kind of question is that?"
"What do you plan on doing once the plot ends?"
I froze. "I-I…I haven't thought about that."
"Why?"
"Why?" I repeated.
"Why?" Shindo smiled.
"I guess I haven't really had time to think about it. I never really knew what I wanted to do in life and once the plot ends…I guess I'll just…become a writer or something."
Shindo put a hand to his chin in thought. "But, certainly your life is more than just following a plot line, yes?"
I frowned. "Well, what else is there?"
"There are many other things. Fun things."
"Fun things?" I questioned.
"Fun things."
"Fun things." Honey said.
"Fun things." The awoken mouse, Mori, said.
"…Right…" Suddenly, the sound of a trumpet being blown was heard. "What's that?"
"A court trial is about to begin."
"For the Duchess, right?"
Shindo nodded, before standing and looking at a couple of guards who had just walked in.
"It appears we are being summoned as well. He held out his hand to me. "Shall we?"
I rolled my eyes, but allowed him to help me up. We reached the king's castle much sooner than I thought. It turns out I had been wandering in the right general direction to begin with and I wasn't too far from my destination. The only problem was, I had forgotten the sole purpose of coming to the castle, again. I only remembered once we had been gathered in front of Kyoya's throne, and I caught sight of Fu-kun standing next to him.
"Fu-kun, you mangy rat! Get over here so I can strangle your scrawny little neck!"
"Oh please." He said. "It's not like I told him yet…Although-"
"Don't you dare." I growled, but before I could charge my way up there, I was cut off by Kyoya clearing his throat.
"As much as I enjoy watching the two of you bicker, I would much rather discuss what it is you're talking about and what it has to do with me."
I flinched. "N-Nothing! It has absolutely nothing to do with you."
He glared darkly and I chuckled nervously. Kyoya waved his hand then, motioning to the guards by the door.
"Bring in the others."
I turned towards the door as three others were brought in.
"Haruhi!"
I grinned, glad that I was right in assuming that she would end up here sooner or later. Of course, Haruhi wasn't nearly as pleased, as she hit me over the head with her fist.
"Idiot. Where have you been?"
"Ow! Looking for you!"
She rolled her eyes as the twins, who had been brought in with her, put their arms across her shoulders and grinned at me.
"We found…"
"…your friend!"
"And got caught by the guards while you were at it, I see." I smiled back and they glanced at each other nervously when Kyoya interrupted again.
"Now that you've had your touching reunion," He said sarcastically. "I believe we should clear up a misunderstanding."
I blinked up at him. "Misunderstanding?"
He sighed. "It's not so much you, as it is your friend there."
I glanced at Haruhi and she shrugged, as Kyoya went on.
"Executions and other punishments are conducted to benefit the kingdom. Please understand this. In the case of the cursed forest of Lobelia, it was simply for the sake of reducing the cost of utilities."
We were all confused at that. Okay, now I'm lost.
"The sun doesn't reach that forest to begin with. They used light from an artificial sun that they installed with taxpayer money."
I nodded. "Okay. That makes sense. I'm guessing that the turtle the cat put in your soup was important as well?"
He nodded. "The elephant tortoise he cooked was supposed to have been used for breeding a new national food source, and the Duchess wasted a huge amount of paper on groundless gossip."
"And let me guess, the red king is a useless idiot who treats everything like fun and games?"
Kyoya nodded with a sigh, resting his head on his hand. "Yes. Thanks to the spend-thrift red king, our kingdom is in great deficit."
I sighed with him, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "That's got to suck."
"Quite." He replied.
"But that doesn't give you the right to execute people!" Haruhi suddenly shouted, before glancing down at me. "Why aren't you saying anything?!"
"Uh…" I glanced back over at Kyoya. "I think it's wrong, unless you have a fair trial…You do have trials, don't you?"
"Unfortunately. It was thanks to a trial that the Cheshire cat wasn't beheaded. Although, I'm considering a retrial for the Hatter." Kyoya glared at Shindo, who pulled me up and trapped me in a hug as he glared back.
I sighed. "Really?"
Kyoya raised a brow. "Would you rather I went over your crimes first?"
"My crimes?" I questioned, not sure what exactly he was talking about.
"Yes." He said, narrowing his eyes at me as he leaned forward to rest his chin on his hands, which held his sword; reminding me eerily of the picture the Lobelia flowers showed me. "For instance, the debt you owe me for replacing your stolen furniture."
"What? I don't-" I suddenly remembered the day I returned home to find my apartment ransacked, and the cost of the typewriter in particular. "Oh…but I'm paying you back!"
"Slowly, but then there is also the way you sneak around all my questions and manipulate those around you."
"T-That's not a crime! I'm allowed to have secrets just like you and everyone else!"
"Not from me." He said, looking down at me and making me fell twenty times smaller than I was. "I know everything about everyone, yet I can't get a single piece of information about you."
My fists clenched at my sides. "But you're having fun, aren't you?"
He looked surprised almost, but stood up from his throne and walked towards me; the long, black, fur-lined cape billowing out behind him. I took a step back and bumped into a wall, that I swear wasn't there before. In fact, where did everyone go? A hand slammed into the wall next to my head, drawing my attention to a smirking Kyoya who was mere inches from my face. This is just like before. Please don't let it end in the same way.
"Fun?"
His breath brushed my face and I shivered as I quickly realized how close we actually were. What's going on? Why do I feel so nervous? I wasn't like this before. Before I was scared and now…
"You're right. I enjoy trying to figure you out…but you know what I enjoy more?"
I shook my head shakily, too nervous to speak as heat flowed to my cheeks. His smirk widened and he leaned towards my ear to whisper.
"I enjoy that frightened look on your face."
I sat up abruptly on the couch, breathing hard as I tried to make sense of what just happened. It was just a dream. I thought, holding my head in my hand. But that part with Kyoya…What was that? I sighed and went to pull a hand through my hair, but stopped upon having my fingers run into something in my hair. Pulling it off, I stared at a black hair band with a bow on it as I heard whispers nearby.
"Uh-oh."
"He noticed."
Lifting my head up, I glared at the twins in purple and pink striped Cheshire cat outfits as they tried to hide a frilly, light blue dress behind their backs.
"Hikaru. Kaoru. What are you doing?"
They glanced at each other in silent communication, before looking at me.
"Nothing."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
Just then, Kyoya passed by in an elegant red and black dress as he wrote something down in his notebook.
"They were trying to dress you up as Alice for the cosplay today."
The twins glared at his back, sticking out their tongues.
"Fun-killer."
He smirked, pushing up his glasses threateningly. "Just think of it as revenge for convincing Tamaki that I was the Queen of Hearts. When you're done with them, Kohaku-kun, you're outfit is hanging in the changing room. Be quick about it though. The guests should be arriving soon."
I smirked as well, forgetting about my dream as I cracked my knuckles. "My pleasure. Shouldn't take more that two minutes."
The twins paled and ran off, fearing my tired self, and I yawned as I headed towards the changing room; not feeling up for chasing the twins around just yet. Pausing in front of Kyoya's table, I set the hair band down with a snicker.
"Off with their heads."
He smirked as well, before I went and put on my outfit. I had pretty much guessed that there wasn't really a character in Alice and Wonderland that fit my shy Host Club persona, so when I saw what they chose for me I was a bit surprised.
"The king?"
Okay. I'm totally confused. After finishing putting on the red and white outfit, I walked out of the changing room and held up the crown I was supposed to wear.
"Um, can someone explain this to me? Why am I the king? Shouldn't that be Tamaki?"
I pointed a finger at the blonde and he pointed at himself, also confused.
"As it turns out," Kyoya said. "the king in Alice and Wonderland is actually very timid. We thought it would suit your Host Club persona better than the caterpillar."
I nodded. "I guess that makes sense…but does that mean-"
He smirked as he cut me off. "You are married to me. Yes."
Heat rose to my cheeks as I remembered my dream and I turned away from him so he wouldn't see. God. What is wrong with me? It was just a dream!
"R-Right. I'm going to, uh, look for Fu-kun!"
I hurried away from him, mentally scolding myself for acting this way. What am I doing?! Why is that dream effecting me so much?! I found Fu-kun over at Honey's table and scooped him up as I sat down. Fu-kun. What's wrong with me? You can't be serious. Are you really that clueless?
"I'm not clueless." I mumbled at him, and he rolled his eyes. Right. Just keep thinking that.
I frowned and opened my mouth to retort, but Kyoya announced that it was time to open. We welcomed the guests, as always, and I ended up paired with Kyoya. Go figure. The rest of the hosting went along pretty well though. No one broke anything and Tamaki was the only one whose feelings were hurt-courtesy of Haruhi. So all in all, it was a pretty calm day.
I sighed though, the moment the hosting was over. I had brought a spare set of casual clothes with me today, since I didn't want to walk around in my uniform when I went to the gym. Although, technically, I brought two pairs of clothes; one casual and one for the gym.
Anyway, I stripped out of my cosplay in the changing room and managed to pull on my skinny jeans just before Mori accidentally walked in. Now, I was wearing bandages over my chest, as usual, but that didn't stop the slight crimson hue that brushed over both our cheeks.
"Sorry. Wrong room."
He turned and walked out, but it didn't take long before I heard a crash. Moving a bit faster, I tugged on my black dress shirt and quickly buttoned it, only to discover that the last three or four buttons were missing. Charging out of the changing room, I shouted across the room.
"Fu-kun! What have I told you about chewing the buttons off my shirts?!"
I mentally apologized to Mori for now, having a bigger issue to deal with at the moment. Spotting him, I saw Fu-kun dive under one of the couches and I dove across the floor, reaching under to try and grab him. It's your own fault! You left it on the floor!
"How does that make it my fault?! I left it on the floor so I would remember to wash it!" It's still not my fault! "It is so your fault!"
I still struggled to reach him-which I should have remembered not to do-when I noticed the Host Club were all watching me with amused looks. I blinked at them, momentarily distracted, when I suddenly felt Fu-kun latch his mouth onto my hand. Yanking my hand out from under the couch, I yelled and tugged him off.
"Ow! You little pest! That hurt!" It was instinct! I swear! "Instincts my butt! Apologize!" Okay! I'm sorry for biting you! "And?" And for chewing the buttons off your shirt.
I nodded. "Good." Standing up, I brushed off any dirt and turned to the Host Club. "Did you enjoy the show?" I questioned boredly, trying to ignore the fact that my navel was showing due to the missing buttons.
"Quite." Kyoya replied, while Haruhi just smiled and shook her head.
"It certainly was a show." She said.
"But you look really good, Kohaku." Kaoru said, circling around me like a vulture with his brother.
"Yeah. I never expected you to look so…natural."
"You should come model for us!"
I cocked my head to the side, not sure if I heard that right.
"What?"
"Come model for us!" They repeated, standing in front of me and leaning on each others' shoulders.
"Our mom would love you."
"And we'll even let you keep some of the clothes."
"So what do you say?"
I, personally, wasn't sure. I mean, I wouldn't mind meeting their mom, but my friends have tried getting me to be their dress up doll and it didn't exactly end very well. But I do get to keep some of the clothes…
"Okay." I said. "I'll model for you guys."
"Yes!" They cheered with high-fives while Haruhi came over to me shocked.
"Are you serious? I didn't think you'd say yes to this."
I shrugged. "Why not? Oh, but I have some conditions."
The twins turned to me and nodded. "Okay. What conditions?"
"First off," I said, holding up a finger. "no girly clothes."
They frowned, but agreed.
"Second," I held up a second finger. "I get to choose what I will and will not wear. No forcing me to wear something I don't want to wear. Got it?"
They agreed again and I held up a third finger.
"Last, I'll only go if I get to spend the night and have free meals."
"What?!" Haruhi shouted. "You actually want to sleep overnight with the twins?!"
"Yeah. A sleepover with the twins sounds like fun." I smiled a bit as Tamaki came over, wailing.
"No! I won't allow it! I won't let my darling son spend the night with you two heathens!"
He grabbed me in a hug that felt more like a strangle hold, and I struggled unsuccessfully.
"Gah! Tamaki-kun! Let me go! I need air!"
The twins pulled me out of his grasp, but trapped me in their arms instead.
"Too bad, Tono!"
"He wanted to!"
"So you can't stop us!"
"Then I will go as well, to protect him from your evil!"
"No! This is our sleepover!"
I was grabbed by Tamaki once more, but the twins held firm, causing me to be pulled in two directions.
"He's not going!"
"He is!"
"He's not!"
"He is!"
Getting fed up with the situation, and the tugging on my arms, I suddenly stood firm and yanked their arms towards me. This caused a chain reaction and Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru all ended up in one big pile on the floor. I was still tired, mind you-hosting really wears you out sometimes-but my frustration with the three of them had reached its peak for the day.
"Look." I growled out. "I'm not a toy you three can fight over. Tamaki-kun, I respect you, but that doesn't mean you can control my life. Hikaru, Kaoru. You guys are fun and all, but people can only take so much before they snap. Now, I'm going to spend the night at the twins' this weekend and you Tamaki-kun, are not going to interfere."
The twins high-fived once more, but I wasn't done yet, and turned on them as well.
"And you two, will respect my conditions and will not tease Tamaki-kun about our sleepover. In fact, don't even bring it up around him. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." They all mumbled and I nodded.
"Good. Haruhi?"
"Uh, yeah?"
"You want me to walk you home before I head to the gym, or are you going to get a ride from one of these idiots?"
She shook her head. "No. I'll be okay."
"We can take you home, Haru-chan!" Honey called out, latching onto her waist.
"Well then, looks like you're covered." I said, grabbing my bag as Fu-kun climbed up to my shoulder. "Then I'll see you guys tomorrow."
They said their respected goodbyes, and I went to the gym in a slightly better mood. And as soon as I'm done, I'll head home, shower, eat, and sleep. Sound good to you, Fu-kun? As long as I get a banana! I gave a small smile. Of course, of course.
I got out of bed the next morning a little reluctantly. Not only had I lost track of time while at the gym, but I had been challenged by Coach's nephew, Misao, yet again and ended up exhausted by the time I came home that night. The guy might have a crush on me too. Just what I needed.
I felt disgusted by the time I did wake up though. The shower had been skipped, as did everything else aside from Fu-kun's banana, and I was still in my gym clothes; having literally collapsed on my futon. I also discovered that I was more exhausted than I first thought, which I discovered when I tried to stand.
My legs quivered underneath me, but held so I took that time to get in the shower and unwind. My God…I never knew a shower could feel so nice. The tenseness in my muscles evaporated under the steam of hot water and, once I had gotten out and dressed, I ate a hearty breakfast and left for school. I was walking leisurely, when Fu-kun pointed something out. Uh, shouldn't you be moving a bit faster? Why? I checked the time when I got up and it was fine. Yeah, but your shower took an hour. What?! I pulled out my cell phone and groaned at the time it displayed. I had fifteen minutes to get to class and the school was a thirty minute walk away.
"This isn't good."
With that, I took off in a run down the sidewalk, ignoring the protest of my overworked muscles. I was nearly there and had just stepped off into the road, when I was suddenly pulled back into a strong chest as a honking car flew past in front of me.
"Looks like you haven't learned your lesson yet." A familiar voice said. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to look both ways before crossing the street?"
My eyes met Shindo's laughing face and I frowned.
"I'm going to be late."
He laughed and pulled me along with him. "Now, now, Ko-chan. You're better off being late than being splattered on a windshield."
"Way to be blunt." I said with a roll of my eyes.
"I try~"
Shaking my head, I took off running again, turning my head around and waving.
"I'll be careful, Shindo-kun. See you later!"
"You better!" He shouted back. "Glasses would kill me!"
I smiled a bit, ignoring as my legs screaming in exhaustion once more, and hurried through the doors to Ouran. A few hallways later, one could find me skidding to a halt in front of my classroom door, opening it breathlessly.
"A-Am I late?"
I didn't see the teacher and thought I was home free, but he soon made his presence known by hitting me on the head from behind with his lecture book.
"You are." Now please take a seat, Nishimura-san."
The class chuckled as my face flushed in embarrassment and I walked to my seat, collapsing with a sigh for finally being off my feet. I was sure to pay attention to the lecture, since this teacher loved to pick on me, but it was all review for me. That didn't mean I wasn't happy though, when classes ended for the day. On the other hand, I wasn't happy about our choice in cosplay today. For one thing, it was outside, which meant more walking, but the big thing was our outfits.
We were cosplaying as some Heian nobility or something and the number of layers we were wearing was stifling. If I wasn't exhausted before, I was now. Climbing three sets of stairs only to climb back down in heavy outfits, was not how I wanted to spend my day.
"Kohaku-kun? Are you okay? You keep rubbing your legs."
I looked at my guest in confusion before looking down, realizing that I had been massaging my aching muscles subconsciously.
"I-I, um, got back from the gym late yesterday and ran to class this morning, s-so my muscles are sore."
Blushes lit up their cheeks and I was a bit lost as to why, exactly, they were blushing.
"You work out, Kohaku-kun?"
"Y-Yeah. Everyday, if I get a chance."
"Do you have abs, Kohaku-kun?!"
"Can I feel your muscles?!"
"I'll massage your legs for you!"
I was forced to lean away from my guests, afraid of what was going on. What just happened?! I only told them I work out! You're a girl, aren't you? Figure it out. As the girls reached out to…help me, I pushed myself back a bit.
"N-No! It's okay! You girls don't h-have to do that. I just want t-to have a quiet afternoon with you ladies."
"Aw, you're so nice, Kohaku-kun."
I mentally sighed in relief as they sat back, but it was short lived since the twins decided to bother me.
"Don't be fooled by his good looks, ladies."
"Kohaku's actually a big time womanizer."
Hikaru and Kaoru popped up on both sides of me and my cheeks flushed slightly in embarrassment at what they had said.
"A-Am not! You guys are just jealous that I have more guests than you today."
"Oh! You hear that Kaoru?"
"Sure do, Hikaru. It sounds like we've got us…"
"…a grade A womanizer!~"
"I am not a womanizer! I'll prove it! Kyoya-kun!" I turned to where Kyoya was and pointed at the twins behind me. "Tell them it's not true! I'm not a womanizer!"
He adjusted his glasses and looked in his notebook. "Your number of clients has increased 10% this past month."
"Told you~" The twins said, pulling down their eyelids and sticking out their tongues to mock me.
"That doesn't mean I'm a womanizer! If anything, Tamaki-kun's the womanizer!" I gestured to said host as he entertained his guests.
"Please don't, Tamaki-sama…If you come any closer the ladies who love you will hold a grudge against me."
"Princess, the cherry blossoms will hide us from view. For now, I am yours only. No one but the friendly spirits of spring will see us."
"See! It's him who's-" I turned back towards the twins, but they were ignoring me and playing some game with both our guests.
"I lost again?"
"I'm sorry, Kaoru-kun. You have to play the penalty game now." A guest said with a giggle.
"Princess, please be kind to him. He may not look it, but Kaoru is a cry baby."
"Hikaru! That's not true! I don't cry…"
Hikaru reached over and grabbed Kaoru, pulling him close. "Do you remember what happens to you, Kaoru, when you play the penalty game alone with me?"
"But Hikaru, that's…"
The girls squealed with bright red faces, and I put my head down in defeat. The twins had played me big time and had stolen all my guests while I was trying to prove my innocence. Well played guys. Well played. I shook my head with a chuckle and wandered over to where Haruhi was standing, a peaceful look on her face. Coming up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her shoulders with a small grin.
"You thinking about dinner? I think a hot bowl of steaming udon sounds good."
Haruhi rolled her eyes with a smile. "You always want to have udon for dinner…and I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about how peaceful it is once you get used to something. You too, Kohaku. You seem to be much more relaxed around the hosts now."
I smiled a bit. "Really? I thought something was different. I'm still a bit nervous around the guests though, and-Hey! You distracted me from dinner! I want udon!"
She chuckled a bit and I pouted.
"We never have udon for dinner. Can't we have it? Just this one time?"
"I suppose we could, just this once though." She gave in.
"Yes!" I cheered, letting go of her just as Tamaki ran over and tackled her to the ground.
"Haruhi! Watch out!"
As she was brought to the ground by him, I was knocked down by a ball hitting me on the back of the head. Lying there in a daze, I watched the cherry blossoms blow in the breeze as Tamaki yelled at the twins.
"Hikaru! You idiot! You almost extinguished the fire that was Haruhi's life!"
I sat up, holding my aching head. "Yeah. You extinguished mine instead." I muttered.
They, of course, ignored me.
"Tono, it's your fault for not catching it."
"It's disgraceful that the Hikaru Genji of Ouran can't play ball properly."
"Come again? Then stop this…" Tamaki growled, leaving Haruhi crumbled on the floor and kicking the ball as hard as he could. "…my Starlight Kick!"
"What?!" The twins exclaimed, only for the ball to fly right over their heads and go crashing into a window on the second story.
"Oops." Tamaki mumbled as Kyoya came up behind him surrounded by a dark, menacing aura.
"You are most certainly paying for the cost of that window as well as the money we're about to lose. I hope you're aware of that, Daddy."
I nearly chuckled at Kyoya calling Tamaki 'daddy', having not heard him say that in a while, but I walked over and kept a straight face as I stood next to the Shadow King.
"Do you want me to dismiss the guests, Kyoya-kun?"
"If you would. And do make sure to apologize for Tamaki's idiocy."
Tamaki flinched and the dark cloud above his head grew even thicker, but I felt no remorse. After all, the ball hit me first and he didn't seem to care or pull me out of the way. Once I sent the guests on their way with apologies, I gathered with the others as we made out way to where the Newspaper Club was situated.
"Aw man. More stairs." I moaned, hearing a chuckle from next to me.
Turns out, Mori was walking beside me, without Honey, oddly enough.
"Don't laugh at me." I frowned, poking him in the side. "I have muscle soreness."
He didn't laugh, but still had a small grin on his face. "Ah."
I wasn't convinced that he wasn't still laughing mentally, but I got over it. I was a bit distracted by him though, and as my mind wandered, I began to notice things about him that I hadn't paid attention to before.
He was taller than me by a good half a foot and built like a tank, without taking away from his looks. I found myself silently wishing that we weren't still wearing our outfits, so that I could see the way his muscles moved beneath his skin, but my face flushed at that thought and I silently scolded myself. What am I doing? This isn't like me. I shook my head out of my thoughts, but looked back up to find his onyx eyes staring down at me in interest.
"Um…" He saw! He saw me staring at him! Quick, brain! Come up with a new topic! "How's kendo?"
Smooth. Real smooth. Gah! Shut up! It was the only thing I could think of! Mori smiled softly, knowing exactly what I had been doing and that I was trying to avoid talking about it.
"Good."
I nodded, looking straight again. "That's good."
"Ah."
There was an awkward pause and I was hoping the conversation was over, but Mori still had more to say.
"Sorry."
"Huh?" I glanced back at him in confusion.
"About walking in on you the other day."
I gave him a reassuring smile. "It's okay. It's not the first time someone's walked in while I was changing. My dad did it once. It was hilarious."
My smile softened a bit, thinking about my father, and Mori ruffled my hair comfortingly.
"…Do you…still want to learn?"
"Learn?"
"Kendo. I can teach you before the club."
"Oh! Really?" I said excitedly.
"Ah."
"Cool!" I shouted, earning a chuckle from Mori and odd glances from the others ahead of us. "W-What? A person can't be happy?"
They turned away with rolling eyes, and Mori ruffled my hair once more as we walked into a room full of stacks and stacks of newspapers. Sitting at a desk in front of the-now broken-window, was the head of the Newspaper Club; whose name I had never bothered to remember. Something -zawa. Mentally shrugging and taking a seat on a stack of newspapers, I watched as Tamaki bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry! Please accept my humble apology!"
Kyoya had walked over beside me and I tugged his kimono sleeve to get his attention.
"Hey, what's the Newspaper Club's president's name?"
He glanced at me before looking back at his notebook. "His name is Akira Komatsuzawa, a third year, class 3-C. The two beside him are both second years; Tomochika Sakyou, 2-C, and Chikage Ukyuo, 2-B. All three have family in the publishing industry."
I noticed, as he said that, that he wasn't actually reading from his notebook and I was curious.
"You knew what room the ball flew into and looked up who would be in it before we got here, didn't you?"
He smirked and closed his book. "You should use that intellect of yours more often, Kohaku-kun. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with more than just a bit of intelligence."
"But isn't it better to hide it and then surprise people when you use it, rather than just openly showing it? It's better if the enemy doesn't suspect anything, right?" I asked innocently, and his eyes seemed to widen just slightly.
"Hm, I suppose that is one way to view things. I'll…have to get back to you on that one…How's your head?"
I didn't know he saw that. He's more observant than you think. I touched a tender spot on my head with a wince. "It's okay. Just a small bump if anything. Don't know what that guy needs an ice pack for. The wimp."
Kyoya had a smirk as Komatsuzawa-I think I'll just call him Akira-tried to take advantage of the situation he'd been put in. I wonder when Tamaki will realize he's being played. The guy's obviously been watching us, or else he wouldn't have been hit on the front left side of his forehead.
"We were hoping that the Host Club would allow us an interview."
"I didn't know there was a Newspaper Club." Haruhi said.
Getting up, I pat her on the shoulder. "That's okay, Haruhi. They're not very popular.
I could feel them glaring at me, but I ignored them as the twins held up one of their papers and degraded them more.
"They produce this-The so-called 'Ou Spot'."
"It's a tabloid that exaggerates love affairs between students, class relations due to family rivalries and so on."
"Their foundations have gotten so wild that no one reads it anymore."
Noticing our unwillingness to get involved in their situation, Akira decided to play the pity card.
"Sure…In our quest for readership, we lost sight of the truth. But with the imminent closure of our club, our eyes were opened." Him and his lackeys bowed deeply. "Please lend us your aid! For the spring special, we'd like to reveal the truths about your charm in 'In the Footsteps of the Host Club 24-7'!"
"Really?"
All eyes went to Tamaki and his excited demeanor. Here we go.
"You mean it? You want to capture how I corner violent criminals and reveal my daily efforts in stopping criminal activities?"
I smacked myself in the face. What does he think their talking about? 'FBI's Most Wanted'? Are you sure he's as smart as you think he is? I mentally sighed. I'm beginning to have my doubts.
"We accept your reques-"
"No we don't." Kyoya responded, cutting Tamaki off and pushing him back.
"Kyoya! You don't know how touching that show is! Besides, it was my fault he got hurt."
Ignoring Tamaki's plea, Kyoya went on. "I'm sorry, but our information is restricted to customers only."
The twins even stepped forward.
"Don't worry, you won't incur any medical costs."
"Think about it. There's no merit in helping the biggest scandal rag around."
"We're not here to cause trouble for others."
Sensing that he might have a chance if he got Tamaki on board, Akira played up his injury.
"Oh…ugh."
"President!"
He fell to his knees in despair. "We can't erase our past mistakes after all…I regret that we mush shut down our club…"
Or they could just try harder. I thought. They're just looking for an easy way out. Not to mention a way to destroy Tamaki's reputation.
"No! That's not true!"
"Tamaki-kun, is this really the only way for them to save their club?" I questioned, but today seemed to be 'Ignore Kohaku Day' or something.
"People always get a second chance! All right, leave it to me! The Host Club will go all out and help rebuild the Newspaper Club!"
"No way!"
"What?!" Tamaki shouted.
I sighed and took a step forward, placing a hand on Tamaki's shoulder to get his attention. "Tamaki-kun, please understa-"
"If we went along with all of your enthusiastic endeavors, there'd be no end to it!" Hikaru cut me off, hands raised in a nonchalant manner.
"It's tiresome. Let's go." Kaoru said right after.
"Come on Tamaki. We'll have a meeting in the club room."
Kyoya and the twins headed towards the door with the others, but Tamaki continued to push the issue.
"You guys! Don't you have a heart? They're shutting down! Their family is breaking up!"
My heart clenched when he mentioned family, and I couldn't help but get a bit upset. Tamaki was really going all out to help these guys keep their club, their family, but they were only in it to dig up dirt on him.
"This is a presidential mandate! You can't refuse!" Tamaki shouted in a vain, last ditch effort.
"We refuse."
The twins denied Tamaki's order bluntly, as Kyoya sighed, and walked out the door with me following behind. As we headed back to the music room, I decided to stay between the two groups; Kyoya, Haruhi, and the twins in front and Mori, Honey, and Tamaki trailing behind. This is one of those times where I wish I could change things, but I can't. At least Tamaki isn't directly effected in this one. Are you sure? You said before that he's hard to figure out. Who's to say he's not effected? I frowned and glanced over at Tamaki once we had entered the music room. Immediately, he moped over to the window, rolling a ball back and forth on the ground.
My frown lightened up and I pulled a hand through my hair as I went to the changing room, and began stripping out of the stuffy cosplay. Maybe I should talk to him. Try and see if he really is hurt by this and if he even knows what's going on. I left the changing room and stood over with the others as we watched Tamaki mope.
"He's clearly upset with us."
"It's just like the way kids give each other the silent treatment." Kyoya said.
"It's because Tama-chan hates to be alone."
Even from where we were at, we could still hear Tamaki muttering to himself about how 'heartless' we were. I sighed, unable to stand it any longer.
"I'm sorry, but I'm taking Tamaki's side on this one."
"What?! Why?!"
"For one thing, there's no harm in doing this. Tamaki-kun will be happy and it will give us all something to do. But also because…" Here, I smiled. "…I like to be on the winning side."
"What?!"
The twins couldn't believe what I was saying, but I knew that Tamaki was going to pull out his ultimate weapon, and I didn't want to be subject to the humiliation of giving in to the puppy dog eyes. But didn't that already happen with Shindo?…Yes, but that's exactly why I don't want it to happen again. Taking my seat on the window sill next to Tamaki, I glanced out at the cherry blossoms.
"I'm not doing this for them, you know." I didn't shift my gaze from the window. "The Host Club is the only family I have, and I don't want it to be ruined by some jealous, greedy idiot."
Watching him from the reflection in the window, I saw him smile just a tad.
"It won't be ruined as long as I have you and the others to protect it. But if there's a family on the verge of breaking up, shouldn't we do something about it?"
My lips slowly curved upward. "Yeah. You're right…So how are you going to convince them?"
He didn't say anything, but stopped playing with the ball and turned towards the hosts.
All conversation from them ceased, and I couldn't help but look away from the window to watch. Tamaki turned back to his ball, and looked back up at the hosts. Oh, he's good. I smirked as Kyoya gave me a look, before pushing up his glasses with a sigh.
"We'll do it under certain conditions. We will provide a plan for the special feature and the interview is forbidden. Customers must not be bothered, so the service scene is out. Got it everyone?"
"If Kyoya-kun says so."
Tamaki straightened up and let out a resounding, "Woof!"
He then began making plans with the twins, while I grabbed a cup of tea and returning to my post by the window, watching the cherry blossoms fall to the ground.
"Do you like cherry blossoms?"
I nearly jumped at the sound of Mori's deep voice, but hid it well…or so I thought.
"Sorry I scared you."
I shook my head and set my cup down on the saucer I held in my other hand. "You didn't scare me, Takashi-kun. You just…surprised me, is all."
I glanced at him to catch him smiling.
"Ah."
He didn't believe me.
I flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I-I don't get scared."
"Everyone gets scared sometimes." He replied with a ruffle of my hair.
"Well, I don't." I said with a grin, looking out the window once more. "Oh! You asked if I like cherry blossoms, right?"
I gave him a glance and he nodded.
"Hm, well, I'm not really sure. This is only the second time I've seen them, but I guess I like them. They smell good and they're nice to look at, but I never really…" I scratched my head. "I don't know how to explain."
"It's okay. I understand."
I looked at him as he pulled over a chair and sat next to me. "You do?"
"Ah. You see things as they are. Not what others see them as."
Blinking at him a few times, I smiled and tapped a finger to my temple. "You're pretty smart for such a quiet person."
I swear I saw a hint of red dust his cheeks, but it disappeared so fast I must've imagined it. When I was about to question it, Haruhi called out from across the room.
"Kohaku! Let's go! If I stay here any longer, I might just strangle one of these idiots!"
I chuckled and set my cup of tea on a nearby table. "Looks like I better go. See you tomorrow, Takashi-kun."
He waved back at me and I headed back home with Haruhi.
"So…about that udon…"
"The daruma doll…fell!"
I stopped moving, posing on my knees like I was begging Haruhi, who was giving me odd looks.
"Thedarumadollfell!"
This time, I stood on one foot with my hands in the air like a martial arts move I saw before. The Crane! I mentally shouted.
"Hikaru! Kaoru! You moved a little just now!"
"Uh-uh! We did not!"
Tamaki turned his attention to Kyoya then, as I struggled to keep from falling over.
"Kyoya! You should move at least one step!"
"Just hurry up and keep going!" I shouted. "I can't hold this pose forever!"
"Then why did you pick such a difficult pose?" I heard Kyoya question from behind me and it took all my willpower not to look at him.
"The game's more fun this way, you stingy, glasses-wearing, jerk! You should at least try to play!"
"Why? There's nothing I can gain by actually trying."
"Friendliness!" Tamaki shouted out and I thought he was answering Kyoya's question, but he was only talking to the Newspaper Club. "Friendliness is crucial for wiping away the Newspaper Club's negative image and gaining back the readers! According to our calculations, it will work!"
I groaned, limbs aching from holding my position for so long. "Tamaki-kun! Stop monologue and let me move already!"
I swear I saw him smirk.
"'Handsome Men of Host Club Play a Common Folk Game'! An outdoor game will let you capture the image of spring in the background. It's so elegant-perfect for the front page article! To top it off, it will make common folk happy. It's a dream event!"
Tamaki turned around to look at Haruhi and I gave up, dropping my pose.
"Stop ogling Haruhi and go already!"
He blushed a bit and pointed at me. "I was not ogling her, Ko-kun! Now come and link your pinky with mine! You moved!"
"Of course I moved, you idiot! You took too long!" I walked over and socked him in the head, regrettably linking pinkies with him. "You try holding that pose for that long." I grumbled.
"The daruma doll….fe-"
"Cut!" The twins shouted, but instead of breaking our pinkies apart, they separated Haruhi and Akira.
"Come on! That's not where you're supposed to cut!" Tamaki shouted, holding up our linked pinkies. "It's here! Here!" Seeing the others had run off, he released my captive pinky and said, "All right! Let's play color tag next! Gold!"
"Eh? There isn't any gold around here!"
Seeing a chance for some pay back, I pointed at Tamaki. "Yeah there is! Tamaki-kun's hair!"
All eyes went to Tamaki as he stuttered, touching his hair. "E-Eh?! No! It's not gold! Ko-kun! Why would you say that?!"
"Revenge for making me hold that pose for so long, idiot!" I said, sticking out my tongue.
His mouth dropped open in shock and I laughed as the twins and Honey-who was being held up by Mori-began pulling out Tamaki's hair. Even Fu-kun was over there helping torment him. Serves you right. I thought as Akira wandered over to me. I raised a brow at him and he smiled politely. I didn't really want to speak with him, but he'd figure that out soon enough. I can be pretty mean to people I really didn't like, despite what the hosts believe.
"You're Nishimura-san, right? Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"
I frowned. "I thought interviews were forbidden."
His smile twitched a bit, but he didn't falter. "Yes, well, we just wanted a bit more information about what this club is about, is all. So, how did you get involved in the Host Club?"
"I was asked and joined willingly." I stated boredly.
"You're an honor student and on the scholarship program, is that correct?"
I nodded and he went on.
"So the reason you are a part of this club is just another way of the Suoh family using their power?"
I grit my teeth, but the guy couldn't take the hint.
"If you would, could you please tell me all about Tamaki-san's dark side and I might just be able to get you out from under his family's shadow."
"Look, there is no dark side to Tamaki-kun and I already said I joined this club because I wanted to. If anything, I'm the only one with a dark side, because I can get really troublesome when I'm forced to deal with people I dislike. You, for example, are irritating me on a completely different level, and if you aren't careful, I might just leak out to Kyoya-kun that you're breaking the conditions we set for you. So I suggest you back off before things get out of hand for the both of us."
He seemed completely surprised and took a half-step back as I walked off, proud of myself for defending Tamaki even if it may end up ruining my own reputation. Although, I highly doubt anyone would believe them anyway, what with them already having a fairly unpopular paper full of gossip.
"Let's play something else!" Tamaki shouted over the group who were still tugging on his hair.
"Like what, Tono?"
"Hide and Seek!"
"Oh! Oh! Can I be it, Tama-chan? And whoever loses can help me try out a new trick I came up with in karate class!" Honey said, bouncing up and down in excitement.
That can't be good. I thought and as soon as Honey began counting, everyone ran off. The twins and Mori went in one direction while Tamaki went to grab Haruhi; pulling her the other way. I started to run as well, but looked back to find Kyoya just standing there. I really didn't want to, but I sighed and went back. Grabbing his arm, I pulled him along.
"What are you doing?" He questioned, obviously not pleased about what I was doing.
"Saving you from having to test out Honey-kun's new move. You obviously weren't going to save yourself."
He sighed as we ran into the hedge maze. "I don't need you to…save me. I have other business to take care of."
I rolled my eyes, mentally keeping track of how many turns we took. "I know, but we still have time before we confront what's-his-face. As long as someone else gets found by Honey-kun first, then you can go stand around."
He rolled his eyes as I stopped suddenly, listening. "What are you-"
"Sh!" I silenced him, just as a loud childish voice called out from nearby.
"Takashi! Tama-chan!"
He's close! Looking for someplace to hide, I found a small opening in one of the bushes and shoved Kyoya in, much to his displeasure. I stood there as Honey's voice grew closer, willing to be the first found, but my arm was grabbed from behind and I was pulled into the bush, landing on top of Kyoya's chest.
"H-Hey!"
His hand covered my mouth and my face heated up a bit as I, once again, remembered my dream from a few days ago. All thoughts ceased though, as Honey's voice came from my immediate right.
"Ko-kun! Haru-chan! Where is everyone?"
As I heard him walk away, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding, before remembering the awkward position I was in. Kyoya's hand dropped from my mouth as he sighed and we looked at each other, our noses brushing at our close proximity to one another. My face lit up bright red and I scrambled back, only to stop and wince as a particularly sharp branch scratched my cheek. There really is no room in here. Taking a deep breath to try and calm down, I began to think and looked at the branches to find where we had came in so the two of us could get out of our leafy prison.
I could sense him watching me, but did my best to ignore it as I used my hand to push at the entrance of our little hideout. I clambered out, not very elegantly mind you, and watched Kyoya climb out and dust himself off. I feel bad for getting him into this. I doubt he wanted to go hiding in a bush. Getting up and brushing my pants off, I nervously faced Kyoya, keeping my mind off what position we had just been in.
"S-Sorry about that. I didn't mean to shove you in a bush or anything. I just panicked when I heard Honey-kun. Sorry for falling on you too…"
I scratched my cheek a bit as I felt heat rush to my cheeks, but pulled back when I scratched my cut. He sighed, pulling his glasses off and cleaning the lenses on his shirt.
"Yes, well, I highly doubt you were planning this whole thing."
"Y-Yeah. Sorry."
He replaced his glasses and reached into his pocket, pulling out a handkerchief to hand me.
"You're bleeding." He said, bluntly and I took the cloth and pressed it against my cheek, pulling it back to find a small line of blood on it.
"L-Looks like that branch got me better than I thought." I nervously chuckled, trying to get rid of the awkward atmosphere around us. Thankfully, Honey managed to save me from further embarrassment.
"Ah! Ko-kun! Kyoya-kun! I found you!"
Luckily, he was saying that from atop Mori's shoulder with Fu-kun, which meant that Mori was probably going to be his test dummy for his newest stunt. Tucking Kyoya's dirty handkerchief in my pocket, with a mental note to wash it later, I waved at Honey and Mori as they approached.
"Looks like you found us. Have you found the others yet?"
Honey nodded his head as he climbed down from Mori's shoulders; Fu-kun following and climbing up to mine.
"Yup! I found Takashi first, then Hika-kun and Kao-kun. But they went ahead."
I noticed Honey's mistake-no one having told me about going to confront Akira- and made a mental note of it. Didn't expect him to realize that I already knew what was going on, but I suppose that just proves that there's more under that childish persona than everyone thinks there is. He actually found blondie and Haruhi first, but skipped them on purpose. He's an interesting kid. That he is. I gave Honey a look from behind. That he is.
(Nobody's POV)
Kyoya frowned to himself as he walked with Honey, Mori, and Kohaku back to the Newspaper Club's room. Staring at the back of Kohaku's head, his scowl grew worse as he thought back to what had happened.
He had just planned on waiting for the others when Honey was counting for Hide and Seek. He could care less about the punishment since he knew Honey wouldn't make him do it even if he did lose. He just didn't expect Kohaku to double back and drag him along.
He asked Kohaku what he was doing, not out of curiosity. No. Simply out of annoyance. These games are going to his head. He had thought at the time. I've seen peaks of his intelligence, surely he must know there are other things I must attend to. When he mentioned having things to do, Kohaku acted unexpectedly.
"I know, but we still have time before we confront what's-his-face. As long as someone else gets found by Honey-kun first, then you can go stand around."
He had managed to, not only discover what they were planning, but he also found a loophole in the game. It was such a simple game, yet he managed to find a loophole somewhere that requires hardly any effort yet still allows you to act like you're playing the game without getting the punishment. I may have acted like I didn't care, but that was impressive. The bush, on the other hand, he could've thought a bit harder about.
Kyoya, of course, was angry at Kohaku for that. Even now, he was still paranoid that there might be a leaf in his hair or dirt on his jacket that the twins or Tamaki will discover, and use it as an excuse to annoy him. Why did he stand there though? Kyoya thought, looking back on when Kohaku had just stood outside the bush, as thought wanting to be the first person found.
It doesn't make any sense. He was the on so stubborn about neither of us getting caught first, yet he just stood there like an idiot. If I hadn't pulled him in- Kyoya stopped there. Why did I pull him in? He would've been caught and then I could've come out anyway. His eyes widened in realization before narrowing, jaw clenched tight. That's why he stood there! He was going to sacrifice himself to help me! I don't need his help! Doesn't he know that? Oh, I'm sure he knows. He's just as stubborn as you are though, so even if he knew, he'd still help you.
Kyoya's dark eyes shifted to stare at the white ferret on Kohaku's shoulders as it yawned and gave him a bored look. Ever since the ferret had supposedly spoke to him the first time, Kyoya had come to the conclusion that the speaking rodent was just his subconscious screwing with him. He wasn't crazy, his mind was just projecting itself onto Fu-kun. Deciding to ignore the ferret, he continued where his thoughts had left off. None of this explains why I helped him. My body acted on its own. I didn't want to pull him into the bush. There was barely enough room for me. When Kyoya thought back to this moment, his heart began to pick up speed; images of Kohaku lying on his chest, their noses brushing, the way Kohaku's cheeks turned red.
What is this? He brought a hand to his chest and frowned once more, willing the images to go away. My body is doing things on it's own again. My pulse is out of control and my mind is playing back what happened over and over again…I believe Tamaki mentioned something like this before. He was asking why he was reacting this way around Haruhi and I told him it was infatuation. The idiot took it as fatherly love, but is this…is this what I'm feeling?…Infatuation?
No. It's impossible. I can't be…infatuated with Kohaku! He's a man! I'm a man! He may not have a problem with it, but to me, this is wrong! This is all that idiot, Tamaki's fault! If he hadn't asked me before, then I wouldn't have even considered it now. That's why I'm acting this way. Even before, I don't give people my handkerchief! If Kohaku was bleeding, why should I care? It was only a scratch anyway. It's not like- A brief flash of Kohaku walking out of the ocean and passing out on the sand passed through his mind, followed by an image of him carrying Kohaku into the building and carefully watching over him until the doctor came. What is this? I didn't care then. I simply didn't want to lose money if his injury effected the club. That's all.
Another flashback played in his head. One of him pushing Kohaku down and his crying, fearful face. Kyoya's chest panged and he very nearly growled out in frustration and anger. Why? Why is this happening? I can't be infatuated with him. Father won't approve. I'll be a laughing stock! It's a disgrace! I'm Kyoya Ootori…and I am not in love with Kohaku.
(Kohaku's POV)
Once all of us made it to the room, I couldn't help but be happy for what was about to happen. We had just opened the door after spotting the Newspaper Club enter it and I watched as the twins began.
"So it's just as we thought."
"Ha, it was so obvious."
"Tono was the only one who didn't notice. That man's pretty slow when it comes to himself." Not true.
"You guys." Akira growled.
"Let me tell you this. If you do anything to Tono, you won't get off scot-free."
"Not just the Hitachiin's, but every family of our club will become your enemy."
"Are you prepared for that?"
Akira took a half-step forward. "As I thought, you're using your family powers and Suoh-san ordered you to do it!"
"Wrong." Honey said, bringing the attention to us. "Tama-chan would never do that. We love Tama-chan. That's why we won't allow anyone to bully him."
"Even though he's an idiot." The twins shrugged.
"So?" Kyoya asked, walking over to a first aid box on the desk and popping out a disk from a secret compartment. When did he even give that to them? "What do you want us to do with this disk that has proof of your plot in these past few days?"
The newspaper trio look scared and I was still pissed at them and took it a step further. Smiling sweetly, I took a step forward and cracked my knuckles threateningly. I hate it when people screw with my family.
"You know what the best part is, Komatsuzawa-san? Being a commoner, I could personally care less about such things as my reputation. So, if I were to say…protect myself from an angry, jealous Newspaper Club president by knocking him unconscious, I wouldn't really be effected, would I?"
The others looked at me in surprise, having never witnessed me threaten to do something like this to someone so seriously.
"W-We could get you expelled!"
I raised a brow. "Could you? If the Host Club backed me up, you wouldn't really be able to do that without proof. Not to mention that even my guests in the Host Club know that I am not violent. Would the principal really believe your word against theirs? Especially since you're trying to dig up dirt on his only son. I told you earlier, did I not? I can be very troublesome when it comes to those I hate. I might just leak it out to the principal that you were planning on ruining his family's reputation. The disk Kyoya has could work as well. I wonder how you'd react to finding it all over the internet."
Akira couldn't seem to find a response to that and I took a few steps forward, causing him to back up into his desk fearfully.
"A word of advice, Komatsuzawa-san." I said, face deadly serious. "Don't mess with my family unless you want me to hunt you down and destroy you with every fiber of my being."
He nodded shakily and I walked out of the room, muttering a small "Problem solved." as I passed the others. They followed me out and the twins began muttering behind my back fearfully.
"That was scary."
"Worse than him yelling on the phone."
"That's not true." Mori said, surprisingly.
"Takashi's right! Ko-kun was just protecting us! He really likes Tama-chan and the Host Club! Neh, Ko-kun?"
Honey jumped on me from behind, his arms around my neck while Fu-kun dove down my shirt. It's kind of hard to stay mad when you have a cheerful Honey attached to your neck, so I lightened my mood up a bit.
"That's right, Honey-kun. You guys are my family and I won't let anything ruin that."
He chuckled as I walked towards where Tamaki and Haruhi were hiding. Honey jumped off my back and hurried over with the rest of us to where Tamaki and Haruhi had their heads on the table in the gazebo.
"Ah! Tama-chan! Haru-chan! I found you!"
The two of them quickly brought their heads up and let out a couple of barks, probably happy for being found after having lost themselves in the maze. It's a good thing I know this maze like the back of my hand, or else it probably would've taken a while to find them. Coming here to relax every week has definitely paid off.
"Oh? What are you doing with Haruhi, Tono?"
Tamaki blushed a bit. "S-Shut up!"
The twins grinned. "Suspicious~"
Deciding to ignore them for now, Tamaki looked around. "Where are the guys from the Newspaper Club?" He asked.
"They cancelled the article due to some emergency."
"What?!"
"It's okay, Tamaki-kun." I replied with a smile. "They said they'll work harder to write better articles and probably won't end up having their club shut down."
"Oh. Really?"
I nodded. "Yup. Everything was taken care of and they won't bother us again."
The others tensed at what I said, but Tamaki played along with it.
"That's good!"
"Let's go get some cake!" Honey said. "To celebrate!"
"Did you say cake?" I questioned, a spot of drool on the corner of my mouth.
"Yay! Cake! Cake!" Tamaki cheered, walking beside me with a skip in his step, but I heard him whisper something after; too low for anyone but me to hear.
"Thank you."
He then called out to Haruhi who had lagged behind. "Haruhi! We're going to ditch you if you don't hurry up. You're going to get lost again."
She stared at him for a moment before her face dropped into a deadpan expression. "Eh?"
I smiled and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Haru-chan. You can worry about Tamaki-kun later. People are going to start assuming things if you keep zoning out like that."
She snapped out of it and punched me in the arm as I laughed, ending a perfect day with a great group of friends. All I had to worry about now, was my sleepover with the twins. Looks like I have a lot to look forward to.